Why Do ACLU And Planned Parenthood Protect Perverts?

In Indiana, a 12-year-old cannot consent to sex. In Kansas, the age is 16. In both states, the attorney general is attempting to access records of abortions performed on under-age girls so that their abusers can be prosecuted. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood are fighting both states.

Why is it that these groups are more concerned about covering up sex crimes rather than the prosecution of sex offenders? Could it be the money?

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Did Hitler Have The Bomb?

A new book says that the answer is "Yes."

A German historian has claimed in a new book presented on Monday that Nazi scientists successfully tested a tactical nuclear weapon in the last months of World War II.

Rainer Karlsch said that new research in Soviet and also Western archives, along with measurements carried out at one of the test sites, provided evidence for the existence of the weapon.

"The important thing in my book is the finding that the Germans had an atomic reactor near Berlin which was running for a short while, perhaps some days or weeks," he told the BBC.

"The second important finding was the atomic tests carried out in Thuringia and on the Baltic Sea."

Mr Karlsch describes what the Germans had as a "hybrid tactical nuclear weapon" much smaller than those dropped on Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

He said the last test, carried out in Thuringia on 3 March 1945, destroyed an area of about 500 sq m - killing several hundred prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates.

I don't know if this is accurate or not. If it was, a few more weeks might have resulted in a very different outcome for WWII.

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Can Islam Be Accommodated And How?

Daniel Pipes writes an interesting piece today about accommodating Islam in American society. In it he tries to differentiate between acceptable government accommodations of Islam (those which are generally made for religious groups) and unacceptable ones (special privileges not granted other religions). I find it to be a great analysis, though I might argue against him on certain points.

Throughout the West, Muslims are making new and assertive demands, and in some cases challenging the very premises of European and North American life. How to respond?

Here is a general rule: Offer full rights – but turn down demands for special privileges.

Pipes points to two Canadian cases as exemplars of what to do and what not to do.

By way of example, note two current Canadian controversies. The first concerns the establishment of voluntary Shar‘i (Islamic law) courts in Ontario. This idea is promoted by the usual Islamist groups, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Canada and the Canadian Islamic Congress. It is most prominently opposed by Muslim women’s groups, led by Homa Arjomand, who fear that the Islamic courts, despite their voluntary nature, will be used to repress women’s rights.

I oppose any role for the Shari‘a, a medieval law, in public life today, but so long as women are truly not coerced (create an ombudsman to ensure this?) and Islamic rulings remain subordinate to Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, I see no grounds on which to deny Muslims the right, like other Canadians, to revert to private arbitration.

On the other hand, Muslim demands for an exclusive prayer room at McGill University in Montreal are outrageous and unacceptable. As a secular institution, the university on principle does not provide any religious group with a permanent place of worship on campus. Despite this universal policy, the Muslim Student Association, a part of the Wahhabi lobby, insists on just such a place, even threatening a human rights abuse filing if it is defied. McGill must stand firm.

Pipe is spot on in this analysis. What follows is a list of cases in which he sees the possibility of accommodation and others in which he sees the notion of special "Muslim only" privileges. It is in the latter group that I have some concerns. Take this one, as an example.

Changing noise laws to broadcast the adhan (call to prayer) in Hamtramck, Michigan.

Pipes is dead set against this accommodation. I, on the other hand, don't have a problem with doing this, provided that the same regulations apply to other religions. I miss the sound of the local Catholic church tolling out the Angelus at noon. I miss the ringing of bells on Sunday morning. Surely there is a reasonable approach that can let both the bells and the adhan be heard.

Similarly, I disagree with pipes on this matter.

Allowing students in taxpayer-funded schools to use empty classrooms for prayers in New Jersey.

I think there is a way to do this, but it would require the voluntary cooperation of a teacher who would be willing to cooperate. I know this because I have done it. My conference period runs during the lunch period, and one of my Muslim students asked if she could stay and "hang out" in my room during Ramadan. She got herself all oriented and spent the first day in prayer alone. By week's end there were a couple more who I didn't know well popping in and out of my room at lunch time. They were quiet; I got my work done and they got to pray. Call it a win-win situation, and one that I would have been willing to do for members of almost any religious group on a short-term basis (I don't know about letting Satanists sacrifice a goat in my classroom, or about committing to hosting a full-year, student-led Bible Study). But I do agree with Pipes that there shouldn't be an officially designated prayer room.

This is a great column, and a great place for a discussion to start. As religious diversity increases in the United States, we need to figure out what the lines are for accommodation of different beliefs, practices, and sensitivities. I just wish that Pipes hadn't written it, since he is such a lightening rod because of his other writings on Islam..

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"Kill Israelis" Not Hate Speech In Canada

In Canada, it is illegal to say that it is acceptable to murder Muslims, batter Baptists, or garotte gays. But it apparently is legal to say that it is acceptable for terrorists to kill Jews -- at least if they are Israeli Jews.

Police have decided not to charge a controversial Muslim leader under Canada's hate-crime laws for suggesting on a television talk show last fall that all adult Israelis are "legitimate targets" for Palestinian terrorists.

Investigators with Halton Region police said that while the comments by Dr. Mohamed Elmasry "were described by many as [a] hate crime," they did not meet the legal definition.

"Although the comments would be considered distasteful to many, in this context they do not constitute a criminal offence," police said in a news release. "The comments were made during a free-flowing discussion between subject-matter experts who were encouraged to express their opinions openly on a topic of significant public interest."

Dr. Elmasry, a University of Waterloo professor and president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, drew widespread public condemnation last October for telling a television panel discussion that all Israelis over the age of 18 could be targets for attacks by Palestinians because they are all members of the country's army.

I find it interesting that the Canadian Islamic Congress refused to accept Dr. Elmasry's resignation, which to me indicates that they agree with his support of terrorism. And that the university where he teaches refused to discipline him at all, when a Christian high school teacher in Canada had his career effectively ended for writing a letter to the editor calling homosexuality immoral, again shows the double standard applied in the Soviet Canuckistan.

I'm disgusted that Canada is willing to allow advocacy of a new genocide against Jews a mere six decades after it helped stop the last one.

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Shooting The Messenger

Most politically aware Americans know about the massive vote fraud in King County that resulted in the selection of a Democrat to fill the Governor's mansion after a Republican won the election. Well, yesterday King County election officials admitted that at least six-hundred provisional ballots were counted without verifying that they were cast by qualified voters, in addition to the nearly four-hundred extra ballots that exceeded the number of votes cast in the county. That alone is nearly eight times the margin of victory for the selected Democrat.

The response of members of the King County Council? Shoot the messengers.

The dialogue remained civil. In contrast with strong Republican rhetoric in the past about King County goofs in the election, the toughest talk yesterday came from Democrats.

Councilman Dow Constantine, D-Seattle, referring to comparisons made to Chicago's reputation for election fraud, said he had heard enough "loose talk about Cook County — hyperbole about taking names off tombstones and whatnot."

Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, took "hot talk" radio stations to task, saying, "If there is anything that will undermine people's trust and confidence in our election system, it's those radio stations continuing to lie about fraud in King County."

Yeah, that's right -- the problem is all those conservatives out there talking about vote fraud and the failure to follow the basic requirements of state law. Not the fraud, not the errors, not the fact that King County's vote totals included more votes than ballots cast and unverified voters. The problem is people talking about the problems, not the problems themselves.

Any wonder that most of us view the Democrats as the party of vote fraud.

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Sounds Like A Good Case For Eminent Domain

The UAW has allowed Marines from a local reserve center to park in the lot of "Solidarity House" for some time. The union is now placing restrictions on that policy -- banning Marines who drive foreign cars or have pro-Bush bumper stickers on their vehicle.

"While reservists certainly have the right to drive nonunion made vehicles and display bumper stickers touting the most anti-worker, anti-union president since the 1920s, that doesn't mean they have the right to park in a lot owned by the members of the UAW," the union said in a statement released Friday.

The Marines of the 1st Battalion 24th Marines are not taking that lying down. The commanding officer of the unit has banned all use of the UAW lot.

"You either support the Marines or you don't," said Lt. Col. Joe Rutledge, commanding officer of the battalion's active duty instructors. "I'm telling my Marines that they're no longer parking there."

At a time when U.S. armed forces are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, quibbling over parking privileges is "silly," Rutledge said.

Sounds to me like there is a serious need for parking at that reserve center. That would certainly be a public purpose, and so I hope that the Department of Defense will consider using the power of eminent domain to take the property and tear down the union facility, converting the whole place into parking lot for the Marines.

And I am particularly fond of this little reminder from Lt. Col. Rutledge.

"I don't know what a foreign car is today anyway. BMWs are made in South Carolina now."

I had the same thought as I read the article, having gone to school in Illinois only a stone's throw from a plant that makes Mitsubishis using UAW labor. And Chrysler is now a foreign-owned nameplate, a subsidiary of Daimler.

What I do know, though, is that when I buy that new truck in the next couple of months, I'm going to try to find one that wasn't made with UAW labor.

UPDATE: Blackfive (via Michelle Malkin) reports that the president of the UAW, Ron Gettelfinger, has intervened and overturned the unAmerican actions of those union thugs who banned Marines from a UAW parking lot for exercising their First Amendment rights or driving the vehicle of their choice. Gettelfinger, a former Marine, issued the following statement.

"I made the wrong call on the parking issue and I have notified the Marine Corps that all reservists are welcome to park at Solidarity House as they have for the past 10 years,"

The Marines, for their part, have told the UAW (UnAmerican Auto Workers) to pound sand.

"I talked to Ron; I let him know that I understand he has rescinded his decision," said Lt. Col. Joe Rutledge, commander of the battalion. "However, I've made my decision -- either you support the Marines or you don't."

You know -- that Toyota Tacoma looks better all the time.

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Lights! Camera! Inaction!

While folks are currently trying to blame the female deputy who was required to escort Brian Nichols un-handcuffed to his trial, I think that we need to look a different direction.

A surveillance camera captured Brian G. Nichols' surprise attack on a Fulton County sheriff's deputy, but no one in the control center noticed the assault and sent help, said a law enforcement official who viewed the security tape.

The camera, one of more than 40 stationed in the Fulton County courthouse, showed the 6-foot-1 Nichols assaulting Deputy Cynthia Hall and escaping with her gun. Hall was escorting Nichols to a holding cell before his rape retrial resumed.

No one noticed the assault?????? What was the purpose of the cameras? What was the purpose of having them monitored? Why weren't the cameras adequately monitored? Two people doing the monitoring hardley seems adequate. It strikes me that the number should be at least double that.

The article also goes on to detail how it was poorly designed holding cells and flawed security procedures that seem to have enabled this tragedy, not Deputy Hall's gender or size, that enabled this tragedy to take place. At best, the size differential only made the escape easier, but it wasn't the major factor.

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The "Free Speech Hero" Who Wasn't

Dalton Trumbo was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" -- a group of Communists subpoenaed to testify before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in 1947. His refusal to testify resulted in his blacklisting in Hollywood by a motion picture industry that (at that time) did not wish to be associated with an evil ideology bent on the destruction of America. The Left in America usually depicts these men as victims, martyrs for freedom of speech and association. That is a lie, as Trumbo's own actions show.

As a senior member of the Communist Party in Hollywood, Trumbo was a member of the committee which enforced ideological discipline on Party members. Take, for example, the case of Albert Maltz.

Trumbo was part of the Party's inquisition against the screenwriter Albert Maltz in 1946, for Maltz's published statement that artists should be free to say what they feel, and that literature should be judged by its human and humane quality, not the politics of its author. Trumbo and his fellow communists browbeat Maltz for publishing this heresy, until Maltz finally issued a humiliating public recantation. Maltz, who also later was brought before HUAC (and went to jail for refusing to testify), told Gerda Lerner that his appearance before HUAC in 1947 was simply nothing compared to the real and psychologically-destructive trauma of his criticism/self-criticism sessions before the Communist Party in 1946.

Yeah, that's right -- saying the wrong thing resulted in Maltz being subject to discipline for daring to engage in free speech, led by a supposed defender of freedom of speech. Ideological purity was to be the standard by which "art" was judged, not its quality. And failure to toe the party line would become grounds for persecution.

But then again, this man who would later denounce people who "named names" to the FBI or HUAC was a government informant against those who differed with his politics. His great work, Johnny Got His Gun, was strongly anti-war at a time when the CPUSA insisted that the US should not join England and France in fighting Stalin's ally, Hitler. Once the pact broke down and the CPUSA line (dictated by Moscow) became one of support for an "anti-fascist war", Trumbo sought to suppress his own book. When people opposed to the war contacted Trumbo seeking copies of the book, Trumbo took action.

"Johnny Got His Gun" became a big hit with right-wing isolationists, as well as sincere pacifists, after Dec. 7, 1941 and the entry of the USA into the world war. A number of such people--some real fascists and anti-Semites, who saw the war as a plot perpetrated by Jews, but also some sincere isolationists and pacifists--wrote to Trumbo between 1941 and 1944, asking where they could buy copies of his book.

In 1944, Trumbo voluntarily invited FBI agents to his house, showed them the letters he had received, and turned those letters over to the FBI. And not only did he "name names." He followed up the invited FBI visit with a letter to the Bureau, urging that the people who had written him asking for copies of his book be dealt with. Trumbo was acting here in conformity with then-current CPUSA policy, which was--since the Soviet Union was under attack--to denounce to the U.S. government anyone who opposed the war. Needless to say, Trumbo did not notify the people whose names he had named to the FBI of what he had done; nor did he tell them that the FBI was now in possession of their letters to him (The information on this unlovely incident can be found in Dalton Trumbo, ed., "Additional Dialogue: Letters of Dalton Trumbo, 1942-1962" (New York, 1970), pp. 26-31).

Thus, even before he was ever called before HUAC to testify truthfully about the attempts by a foreign power to impose ideological conformity on one of the major forms of mass media in the United States, Trumbo was already a government informer against those with whom he differed politically -- a "rat", to use his description of those who spoke freely to HUAC and the FBI about Communists. Ironically, when the great historian and social commentator Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. stated in 1949 that he believed that Trumbo did not support freedom of speech for all (including those on the right with whom he disagreed), but only for those whose speech conformed with Trumbo's communist view, Trumbo denounced him as a fascist. His letter to "The Saturday Review of Books" responding to Schlesinger included the following statement.

"I deny the right of any agent of government to call American citizens to account for their political affiliations or sympathies."

However, Trumbo was already a party to doing the exact same thing five years previously when he contacted the FBI to initiate investigations designed "to call American citizens to account for their political affiliations or sympathies."

I cannot help but notice that the slinging of the term "fascist" against political opponents and the demand that certain conservative political positions be investigated and banned is still a part of the Left's ideology today. Political freedom should not extend to those on the Right, as their views are oppressive while those of the Left are liberating. That Trumbo and others of his ilk, pawns of a foreign power that sought to undermine American freedom through its puppet political party, are today seen as heroes by the Left proves the Left's historical ignorance, their political cluelessness, and their ideological bankruptcy. The true heroes of the era are those who fought against the communist influence in Hollywood -- Reagan, Wyman, Kazan, and many others -- in the face of a political machine which was hostile to American values.

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Morrison Tape Discovered

When I was 11 years old, my father's commanding officer was Admiral G.S. Morrison. I met he and his wife several times. It was only a couple of days before he left the command that I found out that he and his wife had lost their son a few years before.

His name was Jim.

And he was the lead singer of a rock band.

It was called The Doors.

You may have heard of them.

And now there has been a new videotape found of him, the earliest known tape of Jim Morrison. It dates to before he went to film school in Los Angeles.

It was discovered when the Department of State went through 1,000 films in its archive and may have gone unnoticed if Jaime Madden hadn't noticed a familiarity in the way young Morrison was standing in part of the brief clip.

"He said, 'Oh my god! This is Jim Morrison!'" said Jody Norman, supervisor of the Bureau of Archives and Records Management. "It really tells a lot about an archivists' duty to pay attention to detail."

In the FSU promotional film, Morrison is seen walking to a mailbox and opening a letter. He stops suddenly with his leg thrust forward as a voiceover says, "We regret to inform you that we are unable to accept your application."

A little while later, Morrison is in a university office, dressed in a jacket and tie and questioning authority.

"We would like to accept you," Morrison is told. "Indeed, we'd like to offer more courses, more sections, but we just don't have the space that together with the lack of professors."

"But what happened?" Morrison asks. "How come my parents, and the state and the university didn't look ahead?"

Morrison later dropped out of FSU to attend the University of California Los Angeles film school.

The clip was discovered last year among films WFSU a PBS station operated by the university donated to the state in 1989 and was recently posted to the state's film archive Web site after being digitally converted. It will air on VH1 this Friday.

Neat.

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A Story Of Faith

Dr. Earl Tilford of Grove City College presents and interesting story of simple faith. It involves a trip to Jerusalem and a visit to Golgotha. I won't ruin it by excerpting the story. Read it for yourself.

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Science Geek Story

When we moved back Stateside from Guam in 1976, our family drove across country from San Francisco to San Diego, on to Washington, DC, north to Rhode Island, and finally on to Great Lakes, Illinois. The reason for the circuitous trip was to visit family members around the US, and also to allow we boys to see something of the US. One of my favorite stops was the Barringer Meteorite Crater in Arizona. I was fascinated by the site of that big hole in the ground, and have kept track of articles about it over the years.

Now we have some scientific speculation on why the crater is the size it is, and why it didn't melt much of the rock in the area when it struck.

Using computer models for how such objects would interact with the atmosphere, Melosh and astronomer Gareth Collins of Imperial College London concluded that the 300,000-ton, 130-foot-diameter meteor fractured before it hit the ground, with about half of it dispersing into small fragments.

The remaining half struck the ground at a speed of 26,800 mph, about 10 times the velocity of a bullet fired from a high-powered rifle, but not fast enough to melt large quantities of rock, the scientists reported this week in the journal Nature.

The intact fragment exploded with the energy of at least 2.5 megatons of TNT, they said.

I'll have to get that copy of Nature magazine to read the article.

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Not Running?

After much speculation over her future plans, US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice stated that she will not run for president.

Rice told The Washington Times last week, "I have never wanted to run for anything," although she seemed to leave the door open to the possibility.

She closed the door in appearances on Sunday talk shows, telling NBC's "Meet the Press," "I will not run for president of the United States."

"I won't run," she told ABC's "This Week." "I won't. How's that? Is that categorical enough?"

Actually, I don't consider the statement to be an obstacle to a run in 2008, and certainly not to a run in 2012. After all, it is only March of 2005, and there is a lot of time for her to be persuaded to jump into the 2008 race, especially if Dubya urges her to do so. But right now, any talk of running for president would only hurt her ability to serve as Secretary of State. If she indicated that she planned on running, her every action would be looked at for potential political ramifications. And given that she may need to do some housecleaning at State, a statement that she would be a candidate would enable her opponents within the department to simply lie low and await her departure in mid-2007. This way she avoids that scrutiny and that covert opposition..

In other words, we have time to get Dr. Rice to change her mind and see that she is the best candidate we have for 2008. After all, as the article reminds us, "a poll conducted in February, 42 percent of voters said Rice should run for the White House." If her nation calls her to serve, I believe that Condoleezza Rice will answer that call.

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Rodeo Reflections

Today's Houston Chronicle has four letters to the editor about the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. While I don't usually comment on letters, I think these four deserve some commentary. My wife and I have found this year's RodeoHouston to be wonderful.

Kindness everywhere a thrill

My wife and I attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last week and were thrilled, not only with the way the rodeo is operated with great efficiency and attention to its quests, but also how we were treated by complete strangers and the rodeo staff.

With my wife in a wheelchair, we had never experienced kindness like this before displayed by complete strangers.

The parking accommodations for the handicapped were close to the stadium and kind police officers guided us so we could quickly and easily enter the rodeo arena.

Everywhere we turned there were people who were sensitive to our needs.

When it got close to time for the show, we got in line. A young man came over and guided us to a different gate where we were first in line. He made the effort by searching the gates for the best one. That spontaneous gesture will long be remembered as reflective of the spirit of respect shown to us by so many of the youth we encountered.

After the show, we were again assisted to the elevator, given priority for entering it and guided to the proper exit. What a wonderful experience this town gave us.

We have not lived here long and it was with some anxiety that we even went to the rodeo, considering the crowds and all the excitement. But we certainly will come back, thanks to those who went out of their way to assist us.

This event proved for us to be another reason to take pride in being Texans and Houstonians.

RALPH and BETTY BEARDSLEY
Houston

I cannot help but echo Mr. and Mrs. Beardsley. The on-going health problems my wife faces finally caused us to get handicapped plates a couple of months back. We have been quite pleased with the parking situation which has cut her walking significantly. We've even been pleasantly surprised as we've discovered that they have implemented a wheelchair service for those who have difficulty with the ramps and escalators at Reliant Stadium. She has been whisked onto an elevator and straight to her seat at each of the performances we've attended, and back out again after the concert is over. All the staff has been great, and most of the other folks attending have been accommodating when they have seen her getting around with her walking cast and cane (the latter a permanent feature, the former only temporary). The Rodeo has made some giant strides over the last few years in dealing with handicapped individuals, and has responded to suggestions from the public.

Help kids without the cruelty

I was disgusted with the picture of the calf shown in the paper this week. The fear shown in the animal's eyes as a teenager threw and wrestled the animal to the ground made me extremely sad.

Isn't there some other way we can help these kids without making the animals suffer?

There's got to be a better way to get these kids to college rather than having them raise an animal from birth, to love, feed and tend it daily, only to have to sell it to the highest bidder for slaughter!

We should not make these kids choose between an education and an animal they love. That's just cruel.

COURTNEY BROADDUS
Austin

A couple of points, Ms. Broaddus.

1) The local Humane Society has keeps close tabs on rodeo animals and ensures that they are not being mistreated. So do the stock contractors, because their living depends on these animals. So rest assured that what you saw was not cruel treatment.

2) The kids involved in the calf scramble are 4-H and FFA members. Most of them plan on being involved with animals in some way or another as a career, whether in agriculture or veterinary medicine. They have been raising animals for years (chickens, turkeys, goats, pigs) and are well aware of what happens to the animals they raise. It isn't a shock to such kids what happens to the Grand Champion Steer -- as a former teacher of the girl who raised last year's Grand Champion Steer, I can assure you of that fact.

3) The sale of the Grand Champions and other animals is a major source of the scholarship money. Yesterday they sold this year's Grand Champion Steer for $340,000. After the girl who raised it gets her cut, that is still $265,000 that goes for scholarships. The Reserve Grand Champion (second place) went for $250,000, and put $210,000 in the pot. In real terms, that means that 38 students will be receiving the $12,500 rodeo scholarships from the auction of those two animals. My only regret is that this year's prices were a bit low compared to some past years.

4) Do you have any better suggestions on how to raise that money, or are you only going to complain? After all, I don't think that it would be nearly so much fun to watch the kids wrestle animal rights activists to the ground, nor is there enough meat on their bones to make a reasonable barbecue when they are grown. I certainly know that animal rights activists would not bring much money at auction.

Not the place for a war tribute

While attending the rodeo last weekend, I was taken aback by the tribute given the U.S. military. Although it was touted as "support for our troops," it was apparent that the real purpose was to generate support for the failing war policies of the Bush administration.

I don't believe the rodeo is the appropriate place to try to bolster support for an unjustified war that more and more people are realizing is not worth the great loss of life that has been experienced by our troops and by the Iraqi people.

The rodeo chairman gave a speech preceding the tribute and claimed we should show our support for the troops because they are "fighting to protect our freedom." This is bunk!

The war in Iraq has nothing to do with the freedoms that we so cherish in this nation.

I tire of the politicians and others who support this war and claim that it protects us in America.

If they wanted to support our troops, they would bring them home.

CONNIE CORTINA
The Woodlands

I don't know whether I should be bored or outraged by Ms. Cortina's letter.

Ms. Cortina, I've only been to the rodeo eight times this year, but I've noticed that at every single one of the performances the crowd has jumped to their feet to applaud the serving members of the armed forces who are being honored when they march in. I think that indicates that most of us disagree with you about the propriety of honoring the troops -- as do most Texans. We also tend to disagree with you about the war. If you don't agree with us, sit down, shut up, and let us have our moment of honoring the troops. And if you cannot do that much, might I suggest that you stay home from future performances so you are not offended by the three minute video accompanied by the singing of "God Bless America" by which you are so troubled. After all, we have just as much right to our belief as you do.

No returning, rain or shine

A March 8 Chronicle report on the rodeo had a headline that said, "Numbers down despite concert crowds," and blamed the recent rain for lower attendance. Let me tell you the real reason for attendance decline: poor transportation and parking policies.

My husband and I took two of our grandchildren to the Houston Livestock Show last week. We arrived at 10:30 a.m. to find the yellow cash parking entrance closed. We had to go out and back to South Main and around to enter at the purple lot entrance and then drive back to the yellow area to park, seemingly miles from where we needed to be.

After making our way to the tram station, we found it operates only after 4:00 p.m., so we had to walk around the Texans' training facility and over the road to get to the Reliant entrance.

This was an incredibly long walk with two small children. The rain was just a small part of our troubles. We would have taken a shuttle bus from a Park 'n Ride facility, but they only run after 5 p.m. on weekdays!

We decided not to take our other two grandchildren as planned, nor are we likely to attempt this "adventure" in future years.

JO SWEET
Katy

Mrs. Sweet, all you had to do was plan in advance and you would not have had that problem. If you had bothered to plan, you would have known that there is very little paid parking on the grounds of Reliant Park. That is why they advise you to take the Rodeo Shuttle. And no, they do not run only from 5:00 AM -- there is the Reed Road lot about three miles from Reliant Park that operates from 5:00 AM. Had you gone there (like HLSR advises), you would have found plenty of parking on a day during the middle of Spring Break when the star performer for the rodeo was going to be Kenny Chesney, one of the hottest stars in country music. You really can't blame the event planners for your failure to check out the situation in advance.

Anyway, that's how I see the letters about the Rodeo in today's Houston Chronicle. We still have one more week of rodeo left, and there are still tickets available for most of the performances. Come on down if you can!

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Surreal Campus Politics

Were the implications not so scary, I would find this story quite funny. But while I do find some dark humor in the situation, it leaves me wondering about the future of Israel and any state that the Palestinians ever manage to set up. I'm guessing that this is simply a microcosm of things to come.

Hundreds of student supporters of the Hamas group clashed with supporters of Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah party, throwing punches, sticks and stones during a Hamas campaign rally for student council elections.

Hospital officials said at least nine people were injured, including an Agence France Press photographer who received five stitches in the head.

The massive brawl erupted when several hundred Fatah supporters at Hebron University in the West Bank started shouting their own party's slogans in the midst of a large Hamas rally. Harsh words erupted into a fight, sending photographers and cameramen at the scene running for cover.

Student supporters of the Islamic Jihad intervened, acting as a buffer and eventually ending the violent fight between the two parties.

Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad running candidates for STUDENT COUNCIL?????

Posted by: Greg at 06:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hiding Vote Fraud In Wisconsin

There seem to have been a lot of irregularities in the November 2004 election in the state of Wisconsin. That should come as no surprise, as there was wel-documented vote fraud there during the 2000 presidential election as well. But there is one difference. Changes in election laws in 2003 make it much harder for the public to get their hands on the information needed to prove that such fraud took place.

In the United States, your ballot is secret, but almost everything else about an election is part of the public record: Who voted and at what ward. Where they live. How old they are. Even what number they were in line.

Until recently, that is.

At least in Wisconsin, where a 2003 change in state law put the birth dates of voters off limits to the public, making it nearly impossible to determine whether someone voted twice, a felon voted improperly, or someone voted as a dead person.

So if Mr. John Smith, born January 24, 1908,up and passed away in March, 2004, there is now no way to tell if the John Smith who voted in his precinct was him or another John Smith, because the public cannot check the birtdate to find out if we have "dead man voting."

What is even more disturbing is that after the Milwaukee Journal-Star discovered some 7000 unaccounted for votes in Milwaukee, the city cut off their access to the records because of a federal investigation into vote fraud -- an investigation that was prompted by the newspaper's own investigation! Apparantly discovery of potential voter fraud significant enough to cause an investigation is grounds for denying the public access to records that might allow them to find more fraud.

Read the entire account of the obstruction of access to public records. The informationa vailable shows pretty clear evidence of vote fraud, and the denial of access shows how far some in government will go to keep people in the dark.

Posted by: Greg at 05:59 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Do Saudis Support Terrorism Against Israel?

Adel al-Jubeir is the official spokesman for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In that capacity, he recently addressed the issue of Saudi involvement in the war on terrorism. His response was interesting, though quite telling on one point.

Now, however, al-Jubeir wants Americans to believe that Saudi Arabia is remaking itself that what it has been is not what it will be. As he puts it, "The bottom line is that no Saudi citizen will be able to escape the clear message that intolerance, violence and extremism are not part of our Islamic faith, or of Saudi culture or traditions.”

Asked how Saudi Arabia defines terrorism, al-Jubeir said that the kingdom had adopted the UN’s formula, which defines terrorism as an act that causes victims among civilians, “anywhere.”

Sounds good, doesn't it? Saudi Arabia opposes terrorism, and rejects the notion that it is acceptable under the teachings of Islam. We should all celebrate and honor the Saudis as full partners in the war on terrorism, and those Saudis (including Osama and most of the 9/11 hijackers) were acting outside of the acceptable norms of Saudi religion, culture, and history.

And then came the ever so inconvenient question from an Israeli reporter from the Israeli business news website, Globes.

"GlobesÂ’" reporter, who identified himself as an Israeli journalist, wanted to hear how Saudi Arabia defines Palestinian organizations like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other like them. Are these terrorist organizations? Does Saudi Arabia support them, and will it continue to do so? The reporter also asked whether the Saudi Arabian royal family would agree to diplomatic relations with Israel after implementation of the disengagement plan.

Without blinking, al-Jubeir answered, “Let’s wait a minute with that. Let’s finish with the subject of terrorism.” He turned to two other reporters, unexpectedly stopped the press conference, and quickly left the room. Several people, apparently employees of the Saudi Arabian embassy, physically blocked access to the retreating spokesperson. A group of Arab journalists began to shout, “What about the briefing in Arabic that you promised us?”, but al-Jubeir was already out of hearing.

In other words, al-Jubeir chose to cut and run rather than offer an answer that legitimized Israel or condemned the many acts of terrorism committed against it by Palestinian terrorist groups. He refused to say that the use of terrorism against Israel is "intolerance, violence and extremism [that] are not part of our Islamic faith, or of Saudi culture or traditions." One can only presume, then, that his original answer was a lie, and that terrorism is a part of Saudi tradition, culture, and religion -- at least if the victims are Jews. And if terrorism is acceptable against Israel, why should we believe his assurances that terrorism is unacceptable elsewhere. After all, al-Jubeir chose not to disclose the "Israeli exception" in his initial answer. Why should we presume that there is not also a "US exception" or a "Christian exception" to the Saudi condemnation of terrorism?

In any case, before his tactical retreat, al-Jubeir demonstrated amazing command of the art of spin. Imams giving poisonous sermons against the West? In the US, al-Jubeir says, the Ku Klux Klan delivers poisonous messages ostensibly based on the principles of Christianity. Would anybody say that the US is a racist country, or that Christianity spreads hatred? The Ku Klux Klan hijacked Christianity, and uses it for its own ends. Extremist Muslims in Saudi Arabia have hijacked Islam, and are using it for their own ends.

”We won’t let deviants distort our religion,” al-Jubeir said, “We’re overhauling our educational system to instill the true values of our religion.”

Except, of course, that imams in Saudi Arabia are paid by the government, and preach only with government approval. That isn't true of clergy in the US. The extremist teachings of the imams are common in Saudi Arabia, while those of the Klan are the exception and nearly universally condemned in the US and by Christians generally. When the Klan holds an event, they are usually outnumbered 10-to-1 by their opponents, while that is not the case with the extremist imams in Saudi Arabia.

So when will the US pressure the Saudis to condemn all terrorism, including attacks against Jews intended to force Israeli concessions to the Palestinians? When will we pressure them to recognize Israel? Or will we continue to pretend that the Saudis are really our allies in the war on terrorism, rather than the source of the problem?

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Somebody Finally Gets It!

The St. Augustine Record recently started carrying Ann Coulter's column. While I disagree with that decision (I may be conservative, but I don't like Coulter -- give me Michelle Malkin any day), I think that the goals of having a balanced editorial/opinion page is a good one.

Needless to say, there have been protests over the decision. Some point to Coulter's recent ethnic slur against Helen Thomas and use of the term "injun" in another as part of the coarsening of politics in this country. They object to Coulter's rudeness and condescension towards her opponents. The editors of the Record, on the other hand, refer to her style as refreshing. I disagree, but only because I believe she goes too far, into an unrelenting arrogance that does more harm than good.

But that said, I found refreshing this analysis of the history of American journalism.

Their brand of journalism is not new. It was common in the 1800s and into the early part of the last century. Back then it was the norm for newspapers to practice "advocacy" journalism in which newspapers deliberately slanted their news to a particular point of views. Communities had many newspapers, some took the labor perspective, others business, some supported Protestants, others Catholics. At one time, New York City had 17 newspapers, each espousing a political tilt.

I've made the same point many times. Go back to the election of 1800. Look at the articles that appeared in print. Those papers supporting Jefferson savaged John Adams. The writers for Federalist newspapers relentlessly abused Jefferson. It was presumed that a paper was publishing the opinions and points of view of its publisher. The notion of "objective journalism" was nowhere to be seen. The result was a print media market not unlike the blogosphere today, with a multiplicity of views and voices contributing to a healthy discussion of the events and ideas of the day.

So what if Fox News is tilted right, and CNN slants left? Provided that Americans actually look at all sides, that diversity of viewpoints is good for America. It forces Americans to think critically, to question what they hear on both and to do a litte closer research. No longer do we have to accept an anchor's assurance that "that's the way it is" at the end of a newscast -- we can flip the channel, pick up a paper or magazine, or surf the Net to see what other voices are saying.

And THAT'S the way it should be.

Posted by: Greg at 04:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Zero Tolerance Idiocy Down Under

Stories like this one make my blood boil!

The bashing of a teenage boy has been filmed by a gang of bullies – and the incident has rocked one of Victoria's top government schools.

Several senior students from Balwyn High School were suspended over the attack at a park near the school and the victim's mother is considering legal action.

Principal Bruce Armstrong confirmed that the students had recorded the attack using a camera on a mobile phone.

Mr Armstrong said it had been the school's most serious incidence of bullying since he became principal.

The school also suspended the Year 11 victim because he retaliated during the attack.

Let's see if I have this right. The attack took place off school grounds. The kid has been attacked more than once. The attack went on for 45 minutes and the kid couldn't even get up off the ground when it was over. The kid was targeted because of his speech impediment. Students stood around and watched the fight, recording it for distribution to others. The kid and his mother have been threatened by the mother of one of the attackers for contacting the police and pursuing the matter through the legal system. The the attackers had kick-boxing training. And yet the victim, because he attempted to defend himself, was suspended just like his attackers.

This case, my friends is horrific. The attack didn't happen at school and, I assume, happened outside of the course of the school day, so I don't see where the school has any jurisdiction over the matter. Apparently the school believes it does, so I'll set that matter aside. But to punish the obvious victim for exercising his basic human right to defend himself is obscene. I'd love to know if the spectators, especially those filming the attack, were punished as well.

I always understood that Australia was a nation of rugged individuals. Apparently it has degenerated into one more namby-pamby nation of wusses. Now it is training its children to be good little Frenchmen, prepared to surrender at the first sign of aggression in the hopes that the enemy won't hurt them too bad.

Posted by: Greg at 03:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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PC Bunnies

Easter is coming -- surely the local shopping mall has an Easter Bunny, right?

Not if your mall has gone PC.

The Easter Bunny is a vanishing breed.

Not that there's a shortage of 6-foot white rabbits carrying baskets of colored eggs. It's just that Mr. Shopping Mall Bunny is becoming more politically correct.

The bunny at The Gardens mall Easter egg hunt last weekend — oops, make that just plain "egg hunt" — was called Garden Bunny.

"The name just complemented The Gardens of the Palm Beaches," mall Marketing Director Jeannie Roberts said.

Saturday, Baxter the Bunny is available for photos at the Mall at Wellington Green. At Town Center in Boca Raton, Peter Rabbit will hand out goodies and pose for pictures.

"Because we're such a multicultural community, it's good just to remain neutral," mall General Manager Sam Hosen said.

Some stick with tradition. The Easter Bunny still appears at the Boynton Beach Mall and at Treasure Coast Square in Jensen Beach. The Palm Beach Mall has no bunny at all.

"I suppose the name Easter Bunny is fairly unusual. We have Easter eggs too," Boynton Beach Mall Manager Andrea Horne said. "I know it's probably not the popular thing to call it."

Give me a break! The bunny, like Santa, is a holiday symbol associated with a Christian holiday. That is the only reason the tradition of having the bunny during the spring started. If the name of the holiday is offensive, then get rid of the symbol, too. Don't just neuter the symbol by changing thename. After all, seeing the symbol might freak out that small minority of religion haters that would object to the use of the name of the holiday.

Posted by: Greg at 03:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Posts Of Note

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Southern Appeal, that incredible blog by a group of Southern lawyers and professors who blog from several conservative points of view. A recent post there by the blog's founder, feddie (AKA Steve Dillard, Esq.), defends Scalia's dissent in Roper v. Simmons (the teen death penalty case) from an attack by Publius from Law and Politics. I urge you to read feddie's post, and also the original by Publius (if you can spare the time). They are both excellent expositions of their points of view, with feddie advocating originalism and Publius supporting the concept of an evolving Constitution.

Also, look at the comments on these threads over at Americablog. John's commenters have managed to turn the black rapist who killed three folks in an Atlanta courtroom into an automaton conned by the right-wing religious and political extremists. I guess the point of these nutjobs is really simple -- EVERYTHING is a direct result of the creeping fascism supported by Bush backers. I can only imagine what is going on at the Democratic Underground. This reading is not for the faint of heart.

Posted by: Greg at 04:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Why Do Democrats Fear Photo ID?

Democrats in the Georgia Senate have walked out over the passage of a bill mandating photo identification for all individuals casting a bllot in an election.

ATLANTA - The state Senate's Democratic caucus, led by the chamber's black members, walked out of the Legislature Friday after an emotional vote on voting rights.

Immediately after a 7 p.m. vote that would eliminate 12 of the 17 forms of identification that may be used at Georgia polls, a majority of Senate Democrats, including all black members, left the chamber.

"This is wrong!" Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, shouted before the exit. "We will not go back."

All but one other member of the Democratic caucus left shortly afterward. Most Democrats returned to the chamber about 25 minutes later.

"We wanted to at least show them we support them," said Sen. Michael Meyer Von Bremen, D-Albany.

Republican sponsors of the bill said it was an effort to cut down on voter fraud.

You need a photo ID to cash a check most places. You need one to get on a plane. Why shouldn't our polling places and ballot boxes be at least as secure?

Democrats -- especially members of the Black Caucus -- are claiming that the bill is designed to disenfranchise poor and minority voters. The bill, however, allows anyone without a photo ID to obtain a state photo ID from the department of motor vehicles. Those who can't afford one may obtain one for free. Those two provisions mean that there is no reasonable basis for a voter not having an acceptable form of identification on election day.

So I ask again -- why do democrats fear photographic identification of voters? Is it simply victim politics run wild? Or is it because they know that their party will lose fraudulent votes cast by folks who go to different polling places to vote under different names using non-photographic forms of identification?

Posted by: Greg at 03:57 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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What Are You Hiding, Howard?

For all that the Democrats claim to be the party of the people, it seems they are hell-bent on keeping the people from knowing about the workings of government.

At least in Vermont.

And at least if the government official that the people want to know about is a former governor named Howard Dean.

More than a year after the collapse of his presidential campaign, the fight over public access to Howard Dean's gubernatorial records goes before the state's high court next week.

The state is appealing a ruling from Superior Court Judge Alan Cook in February of last year saying that 86 boxes of records sealed by Dean when he left office in 2003 are presumed to be open.

Cook ordered that Dean and the state had to identify each of the hundreds of thousands of documents in the boxes and say why each should be covered by executive privilege.

Dean had asked as he left office that the records be sealed for ten years. The Washington-based group Judicial Watch sued to gain access to them.

So what do you have to hide, Howard?

Posted by: Greg at 03:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Is THIS Enough To Fire Him

Let's ignore Ward Churchill's statements comparing the 9/11 victims to Nazi war criminals. Let's ignore the irregular process through which he obtained tenure. Let's ignore his retaliation via a lowered grade against a student journalist who wrote an unflattering article about him. Let's forget his acts of violence against others. Let's forget his deficient scholarship. Will something as clear and straightforward as plagiarism be sufficient to fire Ward Churchill?

University of Colorado officials investigating embattled professor Ward Churchill received documents this week purporting to show that he plagiarized another professor's work.

Officials at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia sent CU an internal 1997 report detailing allegations about an article Churchill wrote.

"The article . . . is, in the opinion of our legal counsel, plagiarism," Dalhousie spokesman Charles Crosby said in summarizing the report's findings.

Churchill did not return calls to his home or office Thursday seeking comment.

Dalhousie began an investigation after professor Fay G. Cohen complained that Churchill used her research and writing in an essay without her permission and without giving her credit. Although the investigation substantiated her allegations, Cohen didn't pursue the matter because she felt threatened by Churchill, Crosby said.

Crosby said Cohen told Dalhousie officials in 1997 that Churchill had called her in the middle of the night and said, "I'll get you for this."

Cohen still declines to talk publicly about her experience with Churchill, but she agreed the Dalhousie report could be shared with CU officials, Crosby said, because "whatever concerns she may have about her safety are outweighed by the importance she attaches to this information getting out there."

Crosby declined a request for a copy of the report but said it does not contain information about the alleged threat from Churchill.

It is not clear if CU officials are aware of the alleged threat. A CU spokeswoman said officials there would not comment on any matter related to an ongoing review of Churchill's work.

Academic and intellectual dishonesty, confirmed by qualified academics from another university, should be sufficient -- especially when one considers his threats against the victim of his scholarly theft.

Ward Churchill -- do not pass go, do not collect $10 million. You're fired!

Posted by: Greg at 02:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Florida Vote Fraud

I've taken up dolphin's challenge of finding vote fraud in Florida. Today I found an article about the indictment of a public official and members of his campaign apparatus for felony charges related to their illegal collection of absentee ballots.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Mayor Buddy Dyer, a judge and two campaign workers surrendered Friday on a felony charge of paying for the collection of absentee ballots in last year's election.

Dyer, Judge Alan Apte and Dyer's campaign manager Patti Sharp declined comment to reporters as they left the Orange County Jail after booking. An attorney for Ezzie Thomas, a campaign consultant to Dyer and Apte, said only that Thomas' indictment doesn't guarantee he will prosecuted.

The indictments had been issued a day earlier by a grand jury that was looking at whether Thomas had illegally collected absentee ballots in predominantly black neighborhoods before the March 2004 electio

For reasons that aren't clear, the article fails to mention the party affiliation of this high profile public official. I pursued the matter a little bit further and checked with Google. Sure enough, he is a Democrat -- one more example of why that party must always be recognized as the largest perpetrator of vote fraud in the United States.

Posted by: Greg at 02:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sarbanes Retiring -- Who Will Replace Him?

Another liberal Democrat announces his retirement.

Sen. Paul Sarbanes, a liberal Democrat who is the longest serving senator in Maryland's history, announced Friday that he won't seek a sixth term next year.

"It was not my ambition to stay there until they carried me out," Sarbanes said during an afternoon news conference at his Baltimore office. "It was just the right time. We think we've served long and well and honorably and we're very comfortable with this decision."

Sarbanes, 72, was elected to the Senate in 1976. He said health was not a factor but added he did consider his age in making his decision.

This raises some interesting questions. Will Gov. Robert Ehrlich seek the nomination for Senate. or will he seek reelection? Will Lt. Gov. Michael Steele run for Senate, or will he seek the gubernatorial nod if Erlich runs for Senate? A Steele Senate run could be quite interesting, as scandal-plagued former NAACP Chairman Kwesi Mfume is widely expected to run for Sarbanes' now vacant seat. That prospect of two African Americans battling it out for the US Senate in a high profile race could result in more blacks returning to the GOP fold as they recognize that Steele is more reflective of their values than Mfume.

Posted by: Greg at 01:51 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Another One For The Archaeology Geeks

Well, here's another one of those archaeology stories that fascinates history teachers like me.

A chariot burial site uncovered in West Yorkshire could be the final resting place of one of Britain's ancient tribal leaders, archaeologists say.

The well-preserved remains, found by road contractors near Ferrybridge, are thought to be about 2,400 years old.

But evidence suggests that people were still visiting the grave during Roman times - 500 years after his burial.

Experts believe that native Britons may have used the site as a shrine to re-assert their national identity.

Archaeologist Angela Boyle said the site, uncovered during the £245m upgrade of the A1, was "one of the most significant Iron Age burials ever found".

Pre-Anglo-Saxon. Pre-Roman. This dates back to the original Celtic peoples of Britain. And the fact that it remained a center for religious/political veneration for centuries after the burial took place does raise questions about the identity of the man in the grave. Who could be so important that the spot of his burial would be remembered for centuries?

This one has the potential to fascinate historians and others for decades.

Posted by: Greg at 01:50 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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An Interesting Question

Pro-life activist jeff White is currently on trial in Washington, DC. The charge? Keeping and exposing a dead body or body part during a demonstration on a public sidewalk outside a Planned Parenthood "clinic".

But wait. There may be a serious flaw with the charges.

Now, nearly a year later, White, 47, is on trial in D.C. Superior Court, being prosecuted by the District's attorney general in a case that White's attorney says underscores the contradictions in U.S. law over the legal standing of a fetus.

The argument of abortion rights advocates has long been that a fetus is nothing more than a cluster of cells and is not a human being, White's attorney, Brian Chavez-Ochoa, said in an interview.

"If that argument is correct," he said, "then how can somebody be charged by the District of Columbia with displaying a human being" when it was a fetus?

"It's a contradictory argument," Chavez-Ochoa said. "If it's not just a clump of cells, is the attorney general willing to concede that a . . . fetus is in fact a human being?"

Now if a fetus is a human being, then there it is crystal clear that a fetus is a "person" under the protection of the US Constitution. And if a fetus is a person, it has an undeniable right to life, one which must be protected under the Constitution and laws of the United States. That would mean that Roe v. Wade, a decision that has never had much in the way of constitutional, legal, scientific, and medical foundation, would have to be overturned as inconsistent with the Constitution. On the other hand, the charges cannot stand if the fetus is not a human being.

Posted by: Greg at 01:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Committee Hearings About PR, Not Steroids

I was struck by this quote from an AP article about the subpoenas issued by the House Committee on Government Reform to Major League Baseball officials and players.

Asked why Bonds wasn't invited, a spokesman for the committee chairman, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said, "Barry Bonds, to be frank, brings a whole crowd and we're not interested in the story being Barry Bonds."

Yeah, the congressmen are interested in the story being about them, not about Barry Bonds. That shows that the hearings are window dressing intended to make members look like they are “doing something,” not about actually doing something. After all, Bonds is the hottest thing in baseball today, and stands accused of using steroids. Why shouldn’t he be invited, especially given this comment by the Davis spokesman?

Asked why [Mark] McGwire was asked to appear, White said: "For some, this is an opportunity to come here and clear their names."

Why shouldnÂ’t Bonds appear, if you really want to offer folks the chance to clear their names of Jose CansecoÂ’s charges? After all, he is the reigning homerun king. Is it that you are afraid that the focus will be on him, and not the committee members, if he and a press entourage march up the steps of the US Capitol Building and into the committee room? Are you afraid that Bonds, and not your boss, will be the central figure in the media reports?

And by the way -- would you mind explaining to me how steroid using baseball players are a matter for the Government Reform Committee?

Posted by: Greg at 05:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Historic Sail Displayed

IÂ’ve been reading Patrick OÂ’BrianÂ’s Aubrey/Maturin novels for the last several months, so I finally know what a topsail is. To see one that is two centuries old, and from Lord NelsonÂ’s HMS Victory no less, would be so fascinating.

Members of the public will be given the chance to view the only surviving sail from the Battle of Trafalgar to mark its 200th anniversary celebrations.

The 3,618 sq ft fore topsail from Nelson's HMS Victory will be displayed at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, as part of this year's bicentenary event.

It is recognised as the largest single original artefact from the battle.

Pock-marked by some 90 shot holes, the sail would have been one of the main targets for French and Spanish guns.

Look at the size of that thing. It is more than twice as big as my house!

Posted by: Greg at 05:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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When Will American Muslims Do The Same

After all, there has never been a formal declaration from Muslim religious leaders condemning terrorism as incompatible with the teachings of Islam.

Spain's Islamic Commission, which groups the nation's Muslim community, said it was issuing a fatwa against Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

'We are going to issue a fatwa (religious decree) against Bin Laden this afternoon,' Mansour Escudero, who leads the Federation of Islamic religious entities (Feeri) and co-secretary general of the Spanish government-created Commission told AFP.

The Commission invited Spanish-based imams to condemn terrorism at Friday prayers, when the whole country will be remembering the 191 people who were killed in the train blasts and the 1,900 injured a year ago.

The attacks have been blamed on mainly Moroccan Islamic extremists loyal to Bin Laden.
'We have called on imams to make a formal declaration condemning terrorism and for a special prayer for all the victims of terrorism,' Escudero said.

The Commission has also drawn up a document designed to 'thank the Spanish people and the government for their attitude towards Muslims' since last March 11, in particular for not taking 'disproportionate' measures similar to those which the Sept 11 attacks sparked in the US.

The Commission called on Muslims to take part in Friday's commemorative programme being organised by Spanish authorities and community groups and to work with them to ensure terrorism was defeated.

Interesting, isnÂ’t it, that American Muslim groups are more interested in suppressing the free speech rights of other Americans, complaining about negative portrayals in the entertainment industry, and preventing scrutiny of the most likely terrorist suspects. Could it be that the major Muslim organizations in the United States are not working with our government to ensure terrorism is defeated?

Posted by: Greg at 05:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Racist Seeks Mayoral Nod In Detroit

This woman appears to be quite a loon. Why is it that white folks are expected to denounce such race-baiting tactics, while African-Americans embrace them?

It's hard to say whether Sharon McPhail is a racist or just plain stupid. But for sure, she's a liar.

Harsh words, yes. But there's no way to sugar-coat the Detroit councilwoman's character lapses. To do so would be a disservice to the voters of Detroit, who will see McPhail's name on their mayoral ballot this fall.

McPhail participated in a recent dinner sponsored by the Call 'Em Out Coalition, a racist hate group dedicated to divisiveness and separatism. Specifically, she helped hand out the group's Sambo Sell Out awards, given to black officials whom the group decides are too cozy with whites.

This year's top award went to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Also dishonored at the dinner were Detroit businessman and National Basketball Assocation Hall of Famer Dave Bing, apparently for his efforts to give Detroit's schoolchildren a brighter future; schools chief Kenneth Burnley, who has poured his soul into the thankless task of reviving the city's school system; and McPhail's fellow council member, Lonnie Bates, who received the "I Talk Black but Vote White" award. We can think of a number of dubious awards for which Bates might qualify, but that one escapes us.

Councilwoman McPhail, as someone who is supposed to represent the entire city, all races and ethnic groups, had no business at a dinner sponsored by a group whose mission is rooted in racism. This goes beyond poor judgment and into the realm of gross stupidity.

Her explanation that the dinner was a good-natured "roast" of politicians doesn't fly. Bing is not a politician; he's a businessman trying to do something positive in the city.

This episode caps a bizarre career for McPhail in which she repeatedly has had to explain away goofy and inappropriate behavior.

The editorial goes on to recount Councilwoman McPhail’s history of “unusual” behavior, including her accusations against the editorial board of the Detroit News for reporting comments she had made in a meeting with them.

Sounds like she is a real nutjob, on top of being a liar and a racist. I hope the people of Detroit have the common sense to reject her in favor of a more stable candidate.

Posted by: Greg at 05:35 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Jersey Muslims Seek To Suppress Free Speech

At first glance, many Coptic Christians believed the murder of the Hossam Amranious family in Jersey City was a case of religious violence. Given the persecution of Copts in Egypt by the Muslim majority, that wasn’t unreasonable – especially given death threats received by family members for their proselytizing of Muslims on-line and at school.

Now members of a Muslim group want criminal charges against those who dared to raise the spectre of Muslim violence against dhimmis who didnÂ’t keep to the subordinate place required of them under Islamic shariÂ’a law.

Sohail Mohammed, the lawyer for the American Muslim Union, wrote to Attorney General Peter Harvey Wednesday seeking an investigation of comments made by some in the Coptic community in the days following the slaying of the Armanious family in January.

Mohammed said those comments might have been designed to dissuade Muslims from attending the funeral, and could have been intended to stir up anti-Muslim sentiment.

He noted that many Muslim leaders stayed away from the funeral. The handful who did attend were greeted with abuse and several had to be escorted by police officers from the church hall where the funeral was being held for their own safety, he said.

"We are concerned that those comments were deliberately intended to incite the public," Mohammed said. "If it was intentional, we want Mr. Harvey to do an investigation and determine if it was a bias crime. If there was bias related to it, it becomes a bias crime."

Wait just a minute here. Speech is not a crime. It is not a crime to incite the public to hold negative views about a group, unless immediate violence is intended. Telling the truth about Islam is not a crime, and stating that you believe a hate crime has been committed (as many did in the case of the Armanious killings) does not constitute a hate crime.

What we have here is simply one more case of a Muslim leader trying to make it unacceptable to raise any question about Islam or Muslims. LetÂ’s hope that Peter Harvey has the guts to stick to his guns and defend the First Amendment rights of Arab Christians against this attack by the American Muslim Union.

Posted by: Greg at 05:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Care To Guess The Party?

Six members of the Taxachusetts Massachusetts Legislature are on the state list of tax evaders. Care to guess their party?

Six current state representatives are listed by the Department of Revenue as having failed to file state income tax returns for recent years.

Rep. Byron Rushing, second assistant majority leader 12th-term Democrat from the South End
Didn't file for 2002
Rushing previously apologized for failing to file for the years 1990 to 1995.

Rep. David P. Linsky, 4th term Democrat from Framingham, former prosecutor openly discussing a run for Middlesex district attorney
Didn't file for 2002 and 2003

Rep. Colleen M. Garry, 6th term Democrat from Dracut, chairwoman of the Personnel and Administration Committee
Didn't file for 2002 and 2003

Rep. Anne M. Gobi, 3rd-term Democrat from Spencer
Didn't file for 2002 and 2003

Rep. Matthew Patrick, 3rd-term Democrat from Falmouth
Didn't file for 2003

Rep. Sean Curran, freshman Democrat from Springfield
Didn't file for 2000

I guess that means that taxes are only for the little people, not for the power elite in the PeopleÂ’s Republic of Massachusetts.

Posted by: Greg at 05:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Is Liberalism A Mental Disorder?

Seems to me that we are seeing more and more articles about deranged Democrats engaging in acts of violence against Americans who dare to disagree with their bankrupt views of the world. HereÂ’s another one from, this one from Florida.

This week, a Tampa woman learned that simple Bush-Cheney bumper sticker can bring trouble, if not danger, from a total stranger.

Police say Michelle Fernandez, 35, was chased for miles Tuesday by an irate 31-year-old Tampa man who cursed at her as he held up an anti-Bush sign and tried to run her off the road.

His sign, about the size of a business letter, read:

Never Forget Bush's Illegal Oil War Murdered Thousands in Iraq.

"I guess this was a disgruntled Democrat," Tampa Police spokesman Joe Durkin said. "Maybe he has that sign with him so he's prepared any time he comes up against a Republican."

Police arrested Nathan Alan Winkler at his home on N Cleveland Street near Hyde Park within an hour of the incident.

After finding the antiwar sign in his car, they booked him into the county jail on one count of aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, Durkin said.

He posted his $2,000 bond and was released early Wednesday, jail records show. This was Winkler's first arrest in Florida, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

I see folks I disagree with on the road with their bumper stickers proclaiming their political ignorance. I avert my eyes and drive on. So do most Republicans I know. We donÂ’t chase them for miles, honking the horn and trying to run them off the road. After all, we recognize that the First Amendment protects their right to express dumb sentiments.

I guess that is what differentiates conservatives from liberals – we believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we disagree, while liberals seek to hurt or kill those they can’t shut up through force of law.

Or maybe it is just that they are insane, and that insanity sometimes shows itself in acts of violence.

Posted by: Greg at 05:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Uh, Whose Meeting Is It?

Sometimes elected officials fail to understand that they are SUBORDINATE to the voters and taxpayers they serve. Such is clearly the case in Levels, West Virginia. The school board and its attorney there have muzzled parents who wish to address the board about their concerns regarding the district superintendent and another administrator.

Former House of Delegates Education Chairman Jerry Mezzatesta may be the most talked-about man in Hampshire County — but not at meetings of the school board that employs him.

Board attorney Norwood Bentley successfully muzzled people demanding that Mezzatesta be fired from his $60,000 administrative job earlier this week, and Bentley said he's likely to do it again.

Speaking is a privilege offered by the board, not a public right, Bentley argues.
"You can't take an employee of a school board to task in an open session," Bentley told the Associated Press after stopping a handful of residents from identifying Mezzatesta or Superintendent David Friend by name or job title.

"It's not the public's meeting," he said. "It's the school board's meeting."

More than 100 people packed into a school cafeteria on March 7 when resident Robert Lee began calling for Mezzatesta's and Friend's dismissal. Lee and others had signed a list to speak, identifying their topics as required by board rules.

Uh, whose meeting is it? It is the peopleÂ’s meeting. Since you have forgotten that, hereÂ’s hoping that the people remember this and vote out every member of the board and elect new members who will replace Mr. Bentley with an attorney who is competent in the area of First Amendment law.

Posted by: Greg at 05:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And I Thought Ex-Lax Brownies Were Evil

This is just sick.

A teenager has agreed to admit to three counts of disturbing the peace after anonymously sending semen-frosted brownies to a fellow student. The recipient shared the treat with two other teens, police said.

They said the 17-year-old Coeur d'Alene High School student was upset after a prank in which the other student put peanut butter in his cheese sandwich days before. He told a school resource officer that "he hated peanut butter and it made him more mad than he could explain," according to the police report.

Talk about your overreaction to a trivial joke! And the sad part is that the maximum sentence is only 90 days on each charge.

Posted by: Greg at 10:33 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Chris LeDoux -- RIP

Chris LeDoux started out as a bareback rider on the rodeo circuit, won the gold buckle at the National Finals Rodeo, and then turned to music when his career was over, developing a fan-base that included mega-star Garth Brooks. He died today from complications related to liver cancer, one of the many illnesses he has battled over the last decade.

LeDoux, known little outside the rodeo circuit until country superstar Garth Brooks paid tribute to him in a song, described his music as a combination of "Western soul, sagebrush blues, cowboy folk and rodeo rock 'n' roll."

He and Brooks teamed up for the Top 10 hit, Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy, in 1992.

In November, LeDoux canceled several tour dates while undergoing treatment for cancer of the bile duct. He had undergone a liver transplant in 2000 after a lengthy illness.

LeDoux (pronounced luh-DOO) had been playing guitar and harmonica and writing songs since his teens, and he used his musical skills to help pay for his rodeo entry fees.

He recorded songs about cowboys, the ups and downs of the rodeo circuit and his adopted home of Wyoming. In 1976, he became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's world bareback champion.

By 1989, LeDoux had released 22 albums. They were mostly cassettes produced by his parents, which he sold at concerts and rodeos. He had a loyal, if limited, fan base.

But that all changed that year when Brooks had a hit with Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old), which included the line: "A worn-out tape of Chris LeDoux, lonely women and bad booze/seem to be the only friends I've left at all."

The song came at a time when LeDoux's career was sputtering with an independent label and no marketing.

"And here he comes along and mentions the worn-out tapes in his song," LeDoux said of Brooks in an interview with The Associated Press in 2001. "To me, Garth, he's kind of like my guardian angel. It's like every time I need some help, he's there."

I'm one of those who was introduced to LeDoux's music by the song. I understand why he was such a fan. Chris LeDoux had a style and a genuinness that you don't often find in country music today. I don't know that we will find his like again, given the current plague of pop-disguised-as-country that has been in vogue for the last decade or so.

They held a moment of silence for the great champion and talented singer at RodeoHouston tonight. The prayers of thousands were offered up for LeDoux and his family.

Rest in peace, Chris.

Cowboy up!

Posted by: Greg at 03:50 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Link To Racist Leader In Murder Of Judge’s Family

Initial speculation in the murder of the husband and mother of US District Court Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow pointed to white supremacist Matthew Hale as the culprit. The question was, how did he get orders out to his followers? Well, it seems that he and his mother may have taken a page from the Lynne Stewart playbook.

An attorney for jailed white supremacist Matthew Hale said Hale's mother asked him to relay an encoded message from Hale to one of his supporters, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Hale, who awaits sentencing for soliciting the murder of a federal judge, has been a focus of the investigation into last week's shooting deaths of the judge's husband and mother.

Lawyer Glenn Greenwald said Hale's mother, Evelyn Hutcheson, asked him a few months ago to pass the message to a Hale supporter.

"She said she didn't know what the message meant, but she was going to read it to me verbatim because Matt made her write it down when she visited him," Greenwald told the newspaper. "It was two or three sentences that were very cryptic and impossible to understand in terms of what they were intended to convey."

He said he declined to deliver it.

Hale’s visitation privileges were cut off last week, and he has been held under anti-terrorism provisions implemented during the Clinton administration -- the same ones that were in use with the blind sheik in the Lynne Stewart case.

Having met Hale during his days as a law student at Southern Illinois University -- Carbondale during the late 1980s, I can’t say that I’m surprised to hear he is involved. He was a malignant, hateful individual back then, and time apparently has not improved his character.

Posted by: Greg at 03:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Link To Racist Leader In Murder Of JudgeÂ’s Family

Initial speculation in the murder of the husband and mother of US District Court Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow pointed to white supremacist Matthew Hale as the culprit. The question was, how did he get orders out to his followers? Well, it seems that he and his mother may have taken a page from the Lynne Stewart playbook.

An attorney for jailed white supremacist Matthew Hale said Hale's mother asked him to relay an encoded message from Hale to one of his supporters, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Hale, who awaits sentencing for soliciting the murder of a federal judge, has been a focus of the investigation into last week's shooting deaths of the judge's husband and mother.

Lawyer Glenn Greenwald said Hale's mother, Evelyn Hutcheson, asked him a few months ago to pass the message to a Hale supporter.

"She said she didn't know what the message meant, but she was going to read it to me verbatim because Matt made her write it down when she visited him," Greenwald told the newspaper. "It was two or three sentences that were very cryptic and impossible to understand in terms of what they were intended to convey."

He said he declined to deliver it.

HaleÂ’s visitation privileges were cut off last week, and he has been held under anti-terrorism provisions implemented during the Clinton administration -- the same ones that were in use with the blind sheik in the Lynne Stewart case.

Having met Hale during his days as a law student at Southern Illinois University -- Carbondale during the late 1980s, I canÂ’t say that IÂ’m surprised to hear he is involved. He was a malignant, hateful individual back then, and time apparently has not improved his character.

Posted by: Greg at 03:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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AinÂ’t Sarcasm Fun?

How would you answer the question often posed by animal rights lunatics terrorists activists about how you can “kill and eat such a beautiful creature with a clean conscience”. Dr. Mike Adams has a great answer in his column today.

First, you need to decide whether venison is right for you. I would suggest starting with a rack of deer ribs that can be thrown on the grill the next time you decide to Bar-B-Q some chicken. Just douse the ribs with some KC Masterpiece Sauce and sprinkle them with LowryÂ’s Seasoning Salt. By the time you lay them all out, it will be time to flip them over. After you do, just pour any excess sauce on the ribs and cover them long enough to extinguish the flames. They should be ready within a few minutes. Just donÂ’t overcook them and remember the following rule, Antonio: charcoal only, no gas grilling!

The column includes a recipe for a wonderful marinade, as well as some pointed comments about unsavory actions taken by PETA and other animal rights nutjobs supporters.

Posted by: Greg at 03:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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